Atlanta Falcons (11-5) vs. Arizona Cardinals (9-7) NFL Playoff Picks: The NFL Picks Wild-Card weekend kickoff with a great NFC matchup between the surprising Atlanta Falcons visiting the NFC West winners, Arizona Cardinals. With Kurt Warner (401-598, 4583 yards, 30 TDs, 14 INTs) at the helm, the Cardinals will be making their first postseason appearance in 10 years. The opposition, lead by NFL Picks’ Rookie of the Year, Matt Ryan (265-434, 3440 yards, 16 TDs, 11 INTs), will look to continue their improbable march towards Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay, FL.
Experts at SportsBook.com have been the best and most consistent odds-makers this NFL Picks season. In this NFC Wild Card game, the Atlanta Falcons [-1] come in as the Sports Odds favorites to defeat the hosting Arizona Cardinals [+1]. 
The headlining plot in this game will be the matchup between a 37-year-old, 2-time NFL Picks MVP, who’s having one of his best seasons ever, going up against a 23-year-old Rookie of the Year, who has turned a franchise around in a remarkable manner. The OVER/UNDER for this, Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals NFL Picks game, has been totaled at a combined 50½ points.
Kurt Warner is a 2-time league MVP (1999, 2001) and Super Bowl MVP, who led the St. Louis Rams to a title during the 1999 season. After several inconsistent years, Warner regained his form in 2008, beating out former USC star, Matt Leinart, for the starting position. As a matter of fact, Warner lost the starting QB job 4 times with 3 different teams since earning his second MVP award. This NFL Picks season, Warner has turned the clock back. “It feels good. It makes me feel about five years younger,” Warner. Then he paused, “Maybe two years younger.”
This season, Warner started 16 games for the first time since 2001, and his numbers are among the best in the league: 2nd in passing yards (4,583), completions (401) and completion percentage (67.1), and third with a franchise-record, 30 touchdowns. “It's been a long time in waiting,” Warner said Tuesday. “So I definitely appreciate it and appreciate what we accomplished in St. Louis a lot more now, I'm sure, than I did when I was going through it.”
Warner’s young counterpart, can only hope he can somewhat mirror the type of career and resume the old guy has put together. Needless to say, he’s off to a great start, winning 2008 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. “I'm certainly flattered," Ryan said. "There's a number of guys who had great rookie seasons this year, so to even be mentioned in that light is nice. It's certainly a great honor, and I think it speaks to what we did as a team this year.” When asked to offer some thoughts about going up against one of the all-time greats, a classy young man said: "I hope when I'm 37 I'm playing at the level he is.”
